The Mushroom Ball
The Mushroom Ball is an episode planned for Season 3 of Chowder, but was canned as the network thought it was "too girly". The outline of the episode was posted on Greenblatt's Tumblr. Synopsis Truffles recounts the story of how she got her mushroom hat when she was a little girl. With the important Mushroom Ball approaching, she resorts to desperate measures to get her mushroom hat in time. Plot The gang sits around the kitchen, recounting old stories from their childhood. Shnitzel finishes his elaborate story and the gang can’t believe what he just shared. (Of course the audience has no idea what Shnitzel exposed). The attention turns toward Truffles. Everyone wants to know how she got her lovely mushroom hat. She’s a bit coy at first, but the gang coaxes her into sharing her memories. We FLASHBACK hundreds of years to when Truffles was a girl… We see a gorgeous girl with long-flowing hair. She has quite the voluptuous mushroom hat sitting atop her head. She poses and smiles for us. We think this is Truffles for a moment before a young Truffles (about the same age as Chowder) flutters in front of this beautiful girl! Someone yells for Truffles to move – they’re trying to take a picture of her beautiful sister, Portabella! Truffles’ sister is not only beautiful with a large mushroom hat, but is just as nice to everyone. Truffles is pretty much the opposite of her big sister. She’s jealous of Portabella’s good looks, especially her mushroom hat – and all the attention that comes with it. Truffles has yet to grow her own mushroom hat. We’re introduced to Truffles’ parents as well. Mr. & Mrs. Fungstein have provided well for their two mushroom pixie daughters. They have a quant little home in the mushroom forest, where other mushroom pixies flutter about. (The forest should be slightly reminiscent of The Smurfs). The Fungstein family has a knack of arguing over the littlest of things, aka The Costanza family on Seinfeld. A special delivery arrives for Portabella and Truffles! The all-important Mushroom Ball is taking place next week! The Mushroom Ball is the equivalent of a debutant ball where all the young, female mushroom pixies unveil their newly grown hats to the public. Growing your mushroom hat is looked at as a right of passage. Truffles gets irritated when she hears her parents carry on about how beautiful Portabella is with her mushroom hat. It seems like that’s all they talk about. Truffles looks in the mirror and wonders, When will my hat come in?! Truffles hangs with her friends, Shitake and Chanterelle. They all talk about the impending ball. Shitake and Chanterelle are both excited for the ball, but Truffles is a bit reserved about the whole thing. Neither Shitake nor Chanterelle have their mushroom hats yet and they’re just as stressed as Truffles. At least she has comfort in her friends. Deep down, she desperately wants her mushroom hat to grow so everyone in the mushroom forest will admire her. And with only a week to go, she needs to find a way! She and her friends try lots of different things to help grow their own hats. But nothing works. Truffles figures if they can’t grow their mushrooms, then they can at least try to stop the even from happening. Truffles and her friends stand on a busy street boycotting the Mushroom Ball. They hold up signs and chant, protesting the ball as negative event for the youth of the mushroom forest. Suddenly Shitake and Chanterelle sprout their mushroom hats! The girls beam with excitement as they show them off – but they still console Truffles and are hopeful for her. Truffles takes this personally and disowns them as traitors! All alone in her mushroom-ness-less, she feels more desperate than she’s ever felt before. Suddenly she feels something happening; a growth on her head? She reaches up to find a teeny, tiny mushroom has sprouted. That’s it!? It’s so small! She can’t go to the ball with this! Everyone will laugh at her! She’s got to make it bigger! But how? Suddenly she gets an idea. She raids the fridge and finds some cheese, garlic, and breadcrumbs. Perfect! It’s the day of the Mushroom Ball! The town bustles as all the girls and their families get ready for the big unveiling of the mushroom hats! The girls are presented at the ball much like a beauty pageant. Everyone cheers and claps when a girl’s mushroom hat is revealed. The boys at the ball really get into the unveiling – whistling and getting bug-eyed at the mushroom hats. All sizes, colors and shapes of mushrooms are displayed. Portabella, Shitake and Chanterelle are dressed up in their finest. Suddenly, Truffles is announced! She walks out with a giant, lumpy tarp over her head. She whips the tarp off and reveals a huge mushroom – larger than all the other girls’. Everyone gasps as she walks down the stairs like a princess. But then they notice it’s a lumpy, misshapen, quivering stuffed mushroom. Cheese, garlic and breadcrumbs seep out. She’s stuffed it! She stuffed her mushroom! It threatens to explode. Truffles tries to hold it all in, but the mushroom hat bursts open and explodes gooey, stinky cheese all over everyone. She looks like a swamp monster and starts crying. Portabella consoles her with a hug and tells her the mushroom hat shouldn’t matter. There’s more to a mushroom pixie than a hat. Truffles sees her point. If she can’t be prettier than her sister, she can be louder! This will be her special gift! Excited over her newfound talent, she goes around yelling at everyone to clean up the mess. Back in the present, Chowder asks if her hat was destroyed, how does she have the one she’s wearing now? Truffles takes off her hat and shows a price tag on it. That experience taught her that money can buy all the good things in life. Now get back to work! Category:Episodes Category:Season Three Episodes Category:A to Z